Marie’s Favorite Scary Books Part IV: Scary Book Massacre

Marie’s Favorite Scary Books Part IV: Scary Book Massacre

The House of Small Shadows by Adam Nevill
Antiques valuer Catherine is sent to the Red House to catalog the collection of World War I veteran M.H. Mason, a taxidermist known for his dioramas of preserved rats enacting battle scenes from the Great War. Soon she finds there’s a darkness still lurking in the house, a mysterious secret that Catherine is drawn into and unable to avoid uncovering. A stifling and dark atmosphere, a pervasive sense of dread, and horrifying images that leap from the page make this a book to read strictly in the daytime.

A Pleasure and a Calling by Phil Hogan
A real estate agent keeps the keys to every house he’s ever sold, and makes himself a frequent visitor in the now-occupied homes. Sometimes when the residents are there, never realizing they have company. It’s a creepy set-up with an unbalanced narrator, an understated horror offering.

A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay
When Merry was a little girl, her older sister was possessed by a demon–and her cash-strapped family made a reality-TV show about it. In the present, Merry is the only surviving member of her family, and she’s agreed to let an author write a book about her. Tons of references to the horror genre (especially Shirley Jackson!), a wonderful narrator, and truly scary scenes, this is one of the most compelling scary books I read in 2015.

Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances by Neil Gaiman
These pieces have been collected under the umbrella of being unsettling (hence the title). Each tale wrongfoots you in a different sort of way. There’s darkness, there’s humor, there’s deep understanding and wisdom. His characters feel timeless. There’s an ease to his style, and he can work in so many mediums and different styles that it’s amazing all this work comes from one imagination. For a lighter not-so-horrific read this Halloween, give this collection a try.

The Night Sister by Jennifer McMahonLike The Winter People, McMahon’s newest novel has full-on supernatural elements. It’s a monster story, but also a story about sisters, friendship, and growing up.

The Lottery and Other Stories by Shirley JacksonI’ve recently rekindled my relationship with Shirley Jackson, and it’s been wonderful to enjoy all over again how creepy and menacing and atmospheric some of her pieces are. This collection is classic and contains some of my favorite dark pieces.